Beethoven's 4th Symphony

[rubio]

So you like it? 
I'll refresh my memory of the 4th!

Q

So which symphonies are the high points of this cycle? I think I would like to sample one or two CD's.

[Que]

So which symphonies are the high points of this cycle? I think I would like to sample one or two CD's.

They come in pairs (or in one Japanese box set): 1-3; 4-6; 7-9.
The last symphonies seem a good place to  start.

Q

[RebLem]

As an Ohioan I am biased toward George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra!

Stravinsky , in one of his books with Robert Craft, also chose the Fourth as his favorite Beethoven symphony.  Perhaps he liked its more "Olympian" qualities as opposed to the Sturm und Drang of its predecessor and successor.

I am from Chicago, and I have never been in Ohio.  But I must say a preference for George Szell & the Cleveland Orchestra in many things is not bias.  Its just good taste.

However, while Szell is good here, I still say that in the 4th, Klemperer & Monteux are best.  Szell is at his best in the last four Beethoven symphonies, IMO.

[Franco]

I just listened to the Paavo Jarvi recording of the 4th, 1st Movement - and I am amazed at how he is able to produce such a phenomonal ensemble at the quick tempo he takes in the first movement's Allegro.  The music jumps out at me and I find myself smiling as I am swept along with the pulse he creates. 

Very exciting recording, and very enjoyable!

[Valentino]

My absolute favourite

Mine too. No contest there.

[Superhorn]

  Are you sure Ozawa recorded the 4th with the BSO?  I don't recall any such version.  Ozawa did record the 5th with them for Telarc, a pretty good but not transcendent one.
  Ozawa has yet to make an integral set of the Beethoven symphonies, and I don't recall him ever recording the fourth.

[Leo K.]

I think this 4th is fantastic.

[Xenophanes]

I have three that I think are terrific.

Ansermet, SRO--Ansermet's Beethoven symphonies are surprisingly good, and 3, 4, and 7 are standouts.  The recording is excellent, too.

Liebowitz, RPO--reissued on Chesky.  All his Beethoven symphonies are great, and the 4th is as good as it gets, I think. It's also very well recorded.

Suitner, Staatskapelle Berlin--a wonderful 4th, very well recorded, one of the highlights of his set.

[DavidRoss]

I see Franco's praise for P. Järvi's 4th has jump-started this moribund thread.  Good!  I like the 4th more and more as time goes on--partly perhaps due to overexposure to the 3rd, 5th, & 7th (& especially the 9th!).  And if I keep hearing good reports about Mr. Järvi's Beethoven I might just have to rush out an buy the damned cycle!  (Youtube vids of performances prior to the recordings sound as if the praise is well deserved--still, I already own several other cycles that please me greatly.)

Think I might try a bit of comparative listening to some, i.e. Abbado, Vänskä, Immerseel, Brüggen, Gardiner, Szell, Zinman, and maybe even Böhm if I get that far along before tiring of it and feel like firing up the turntable.  Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe Böhm would be a good place to start, since I've probably not heard that in years!

[DarkAngel]

 

Two great performances of the 4th.......
It would be very good idea to get the Kleiber DVD with Beethoven 4,7 for almost same price as the Orfeo CD with only the 4th while easily available. Performances of these 4ths are only 1 year apart, DVD filmed 1983 at Concertgebouw Hall Amsterdam.

Kleiber is very energetic and animated on the podium, the Concertgebouw has almost surround seating..........looks unusual to see people sitting behind the orchestra

[Renfield]

the Concertgebouw has almost surround seating..........looks unusual to see people sitting behind the orchestra

Certainly the Berlin Philharmonie does, to quite an effect.

[Herman]

Kleiber is very energetic and animated on the podium, the Concertgebouw has almost surround seating..........looks unusual to see people sitting behind the orchestra

Many concert halls have seats under the organ. They're cheaper and some people claim to enjoy watching the conductor's face etc.

[Scarpia]

Certainly the Berlin Philharmonie does, to quite an effect.

As does the San Francisco Symphony in Davies Hall.

[DavidRoss]

Think I might try a bit of comparative listening to some, i.e. Abbado, Vänskä, Immerseel, Brüggen, Gardiner, Szell, Zinman, and maybe even Böhm if I get that far along before tiring of it and feel like firing up the turntable.  Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe Böhm would be a good place to start, since I've probably not heard that in years!

Well, I listened to several recordings of the 4th yesterday.  Tops, for me, were Brüggen, Immerseel, Harnoncourt, Gardiner, and Zinman.  Abbado/BP/Rome and Vänskä didn't measure up, not brisk and agile and rough enough to suit me.  (Didn't spin Szell or Böhm or anyone else.)

The big surprise for me was not that I liked Brüggen best, but that both Immerseel and Harnoncourt measured up so well in comparison...and that despite the comparative briskness of Zinman's opening, he still managed to convey much of that sense of slow mysteriousness that Brüggen & Harnoncourt excelled at. 

edit:  BTW, does anyone else feel a kinship between this symphony and Mendelssohn's sunny 4th?

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

As does the San Francisco Symphony in Davies Hall.

As does Orchestra Hall in Chicago. It was my favorite place to sit there, mainly because of the "inside view" and the more visceral thump of the percussion.

and that despite the comparative briskness of Zinman's opening, he still managed to convey much of that sense of slow mysteriousness that Brüggen & Harnoncourt excelled at. 

Haven't heard many versions of this piece, but I've enjoyed that Zinman version for years (and the Eroica on the same disc ain't bad either).

[Bogey]

Time to give this 4th another spin:

[DavidRoss]

Hey, Bill--just listened to Hogwood's 4th, and though the opening is a bit sluggish for my tastes, otherwise it shares the general virtues of clarity and liveliness that I enjoy so much in most HIP performances. 

[Bogey]

Hey, Bill--just listened to Hogwood's 4th, and though the opening is a bit sluggish for my tastes, otherwise it shares the general virtues of clarity and liveliness that I enjoy so much in most HIP performances.

I also think he gets the job done, David.  However, the Harnoncourt set once again rises to the top....might just have to add it to the shelf down the road here, but trying to stay with stuff I do not have of composers I do not have.

[DavidRoss]

Later I spun Szell/CO--excellent!  The only big band 4th I've heard that competes with the smaller HIP orchestras in nimbleness and grace and infectious joie de vivre.  Followed up with Barenboim--couldn't take it.  The orchestra's playing was lovely, but the pacing was so sluggish and ponderous that instead of recalling Schumann's "slender Greek maiden" it brought to mind Disney's tutu-wearing hippos!

[Bogey]

Live recording: Berlin, 27.06.1943/BPO

Giving the above 4th a spin...great ride so far!